Friendly Nudges
by anxiousgeek
Summary: Cullen and Cassandra are stubborn and in love. Dorian and Varric sort of help. Inspired by the Tresspasser epilogue slides of Cassandra in that dress by Matt Rhodes and this video from the Game of The Year Awards of Cassandra and Varric. And a conversation I had with someone in the facebook Dragon Age group. Support me on Patreon.


Cassandra had no idea why she had to be the one to corral the nobles in attendance for the Inquisitors wedding. Nor did she know why Varric was will her in the main hall, the two of them standing in front of a group of nobles, addressing them as if they were children.

Because they behaved like children, she reminded herself. Most of them were there for the celebration only, Josephine didn't want to insult anyone (which apparently meant everyone). Evelyn hadn't cared one jot, but had insisted they had a small ceremony, private and in the little Skyhold chantry. Cassandra approved of that part at least.

Though that still didn't explain why she was currently herding nobles.

Varric was telling them about his new book, and Cassandra rolled her eyes before interrupting his spiel.

"Stop selling your book," she grumbled. "They're not here for you."

"I am!" Someone called from the back and Varric chuckled. Cassandra simply ignored him and moved on, explaining to the nobles the order for the next few days.

"While the Inquisition is not currently engage in any world-saving missions," Varric cut in, "it is still a formidable force in Thedas not to be trifled with."

Cassandra grunted, smiling at him.

She carried on with the careful instructions given to her by Josephine who had planned everything down to the minute, until she was done and sent the nobles away giving the dwarf beside her a cautious smile.

"While I do not appreciate your attempts to sell your book, thank you for your assistance."

"You've got to give a little Seeker," he said grinning, "They're not just here for a wedding, they're here for an experience."

"They're are here to celebra-"

She drifted off as Cullen sauntered into her peripheral vision, shirtless and smiling – smiling at her. Cassandra watched as he walked by, whirling around and keeping an eye on his perfect body as he left the main hall. The man was fitter than ever now the Lyrium was completely gone from his system. He was a golden tan colour and his muscle defined in ways Cassandra had only imagined before. She sighed to herself, thoughts going into the gutter until she heard Varric chuckling next to her.

"A little distracted there Seeker?" he asked.

She grumbled.

"Just trying to remember what I needed to see the Commander about," she said, feeling hot and uncomfortable.

"Whatever you say Cassandra."

Ignoring him, she stalked off.

In the opposite direction to that of the Commander. She could hardly talk to him while he was semi-naked. She was struggling to get a complete thought together, let alone a sentence.

Mostly he was just a soldier. A soldier and a friend. An unexpectedly handsome friend that she struggled to rein her attraction for in.

Just a soldier.

They had become good friends since she had first met him in Kirkwall, the city in chaos and Cullen trying desperately to hold the place together with the city guard and the few Templars who had remained loyal. The attraction had been immediate, she had been sent to assess the situation but had found him instead. A brave, honest man neither afraid nor ashamed of his mistakes. He had a healing cut through his lip, his hair a little darker and unruly and his eyes bright but sad.

His smiled genuine.

His smiles to her were always genuine, she had come to learn that quickly, he was always pleased to see her. It brightened her day to see him smile. In any case she had to concentrate on other matters instead of Cullen as usual; The Seekers, the Inquisitions, the war, this wedding.

She was looking forward to the wedding. She cared deeply for her friends, their relationship – she wanted to see them happy. Enough to wear a dress at least.

The dress was tradition.

She wasn't overly found of Nervarren traditions, nor dresses, but she had agreed to the the traditional dragon dress of her family for the wedding because she was fond of Josephine – enough to let the woman talk her into wearing it. Enough to let the woman talk her into having one tailored. The last one she had worn she had been perhaps six or seven.

And she'd torn that into rags as soon as she'd joined the Seekers.

As she put it on, Cassandra wondered what Cullen would think of her in a dress.

The thought made her more nervous than she had been in a long time and she growled, glad that it was tradition to wear a sword with the dress.

xxx

Cassandra was wearing a dress.

Cullen didn't quite believe it at first, but it was definitely Cassandra in a black dress, panels and panels of hide sewn together intricately, moulded to her body. The neck was high and the sleeves were gauzy, and it suited her wonderfully. She was beautiful, breath-taking and he didn't quite know what to think for a moment except that his mind was heading straight to the gutter.

More so when he noticed her braid loose over one shoulder.

She saw him and smiled.

For the longest time he had known her, she had been just another solider.

A soldier and friend and confident.

Nothing more.

Cullen had always been good at denial.

Right now he couldn't see any of those things. All he could see was Cassandra, her braid, her body and the slight smile she gave him when she saw him. She headed over to him and he suddenly felt under-dressed, or, at the very least, very common, very Ferelden. Especially next to a Nervarren princess.

The trousers and shirt were new, and he was wearing an Orlesian waistcoat Dorian had convinced him to buy while they were in Val Royeaux recently. He hadn't been too sure about it but it was a wedding and both the Inquisitor and Josephine had approved of it.

Over it he wore the same coat he wore to his sister's wedding, an older piece carefully looked after over the years, a dark navy linen with a warm lining that was purely made for the southern part of the country. The buttons were large and silver, standing out against his torso and couldn't be parted with it.

His mother had made it.

She was long gone, his sister and their husband on their third child, but the coat was hard ever worn and in perfect condition.

He loved this coat.

He planned to wear it on his own wedding day, should that day come.

Should he ever managed to...he shook the thought aside and smiled at Cassandra. The woman looked a little...anxious perhaps but he wasn't sure because he couldn't remember the woman ever being anxious or nervous about anything.

Perhaps it was all the nobles. He certainly felt the same unease around them.

The way she moved in her dress wasn't quite Cassandra, less confident and more measured. Slower and and not the harsh steps he was used to seeing from her. Beautiful all the same but it helped to remind him that this was a soldier, just a soldier playing dress up for the day.

A beautiful soldier.

He managed to smile back as she reached him, smile without letting his eyes sweep down her body like half the other men in the room.

Mostly without letting his eyes sweep down her body like every other man in the room.

"Cassandra," he breathed, "you look amazing."

"I – thank you Commander," she said.

He didn't like it when she called him Commander, not after all this time but accepted it as part of who she was and tried not to take it personally. Even though he loved hearing her say his name.

"You look -" she paused and Cullen panicked for a second, wondering which item of clothing had been a mistake. "Very dashing," she settled on, a slight blush covering her olive cheeks and he smiled, relieved.

"Thank you Cassandra," he replied. He had a dozen questions – all about her dress, about her – but knew the seeker well enough that she would not want to talk about it just yet. Perhaps later when she had settled into the company of her friends and a glass of wine. "Are you ready for the ceremony?" he asked instead.

"I'm looking forward to it." He nodded but didn't know what else to say, feeling his own anxiety bubbling up. "Perhaps I could walk you to the chantry?"

"I'd like that," she said softly and he hesitated before offering her his arm. She looped hers with his and together they walked to the little chantry.

Cullen had never felt so at peace with the world.

xxx

"Sad, isn't it?"

Varric looked up at Dorian then followed the man's line of sight to where Cullen stood in his finery, staring across the hall at Cassandra. The seeker was speaking to Leliana, flushed from wine and something the spy was saying, but laughing all the same.

"Very. She's just as bad."

"Really?"

"Just wait," the dwarf said with a grin.

They sipped their wine and watched as the two women spoke, a third joining them shortly. The conversation didn't let up but Cassandra broke away, stepping back. Her eyes wandered, around the room, quickly finding Cullen. She gave him a small smile as their eyes met, the flush on her face deepening before she turned away to scowl. Cullen blushed too, spilling some of him wine as Josephine caught his attention at his elbow.

"tragic," Dorian said. "Positively tragic."

"I know."

"You know what we need to do,."

"Go get some more wine," Varric said. "I'll get her alone."

Dorian grinned at him and almost skipped as he went to find a couple of glasses of wine for their hopeless romantics. Varric laughed and went over to Cassandra, the seeker looking much more comfortable in her dress than she had when he'd seen her at the beginning of the day. Not as comfortable as she would be in her armour, but she didn't look like she was about to grievously injure anyone who commented on it.

"Seeker," he said, tipping his head to her.

She nodded to him, looking over his own fine clothing.

He'd gone all out for the wedding, everyone had. No one wanted to let the Inquisitor down by looking shabby and no one wanted to face Josephine's wrath for being anything less than stunning.

It had certainly worked in Cassandra's favour.

"Enjoying yourself," he asked.

"Yes thank you, it was a beautiful ceremony."

Varric resisted the urge to laugh, he had seen Cassandra shed a few tears discreetly into a handkerchief, trying desperate to hide her her emotions even as she cried more. He had also noted the way she had shifted closer to Cullen as the brides spoke their vows. It was subtle but he noticed everything and he loved a good love story.

It sold books too.

"You look lovely," he said, carefully urging her away from Leliana, who was talking to the Inquisitor now. "Perhaps you'll tell me the story about this traditional dress later."

"Perhaps not," she snapped.

"Shame, it's really something else," he told her, smiling as she blushed beneath the scowl.

"There's not much of a story," she said, "the Pentaghasts kill dragons, we wear dragons."

"Right, no story there at all," he drawled.

He noted Dorian and Cullen heading their way, Cullen holding two glasses of wine and looking a little confused.

"Perhaps the Commander can coax it out of you," he said, wandering away. Cassandra frowned at him, and watched as Dorian nudged Culled forward, the man almost spilling the wine again, before going after Varric.

"Think it'll work."

"Perhaps," he said. "Probably not. Both too stubborn."

"Completely."

xxx

"What was that about?" Cullen asked, still holding the two glasses of wine and looking at his friends as they walked away.

"Varric was asking me about the dress," Cassandra said.

"Oh?"

"He wants to know the story behind it."

"You wouldn't tell him?" Cullen asked.

"There isn't one" she said, frowning. "Though, I suppose someone must've had a reason to first make a dress or coat from the dragon hide but it's a story lost in the annals of Pentaghast history."

Cullen chuckled at the way she spat her family's name out. His own family name meant so little to the world but he love it dearly. It meant something to him.

"Is one of those for me?" Cassandra asked and Cullen blushed.

"Ah, yes, sorry," he handed her a glass and took a long drink from his own. "Dorian insisted we both try this vintage."

"He insists on that a lot," Cassandra grumbled.

"True," he said, "true."

They were quiet for a moment, awkward and hovering next to each other Cullen shifting slightly closer to her as someone walked past him. He felt the heat radiating from her, the nervous tension that was so unfamiliar on her.

"You do look lovely in the dress Cassandra," he said, "And your braid loose like that..." he drifted off, suddenly very conscious of what he wanted to say, a lump forming in his throat as she wanted him, flushing slightly.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"I know you're uncomfortable – both with the dress and what it represents," he said, "but Josephine and Evelyn are very happy and you are..." he drifted off, unable to tell her just how beautiful he thought she was.

"Thank you," she repeated, flushing still.

The dress made her look less of the soldier he spent most of his time convincing himself she was. And she was a soldier. But right now she was also a woman, a woman he had feelings for. In the dress it was harder to remember that they were colleagues and easier to imagine them being something more, something better.

Something he wanted badly.

"Cassandra, I..."

"Commander!" He whirled around at the sound of Bull yelling after him, then back to Cassandra who was waiting for him to finish his sentence.

His confession.

This probably wasn't the place.

"Commander!" Bull yelled again, voice booming across the hall, waving him across.

"Go," Cassandra told him

"Sorry," he said, frowning, but she gave him that small smile and turned her attention away from him and to Josephine as the woman walked by.

xxx

Cullen appeared next to her as she intended to retire for the evening. He didn't have wine this time, and she couldn't see either Dorian or Varric in the vicinity. The dwarf had been bothering her all evening about one thing or another, but especially the Commander. He knows, she realised, knows that her feelings for the man have grown, gone deeper than even she is fully aware of.

Just the thump of her heart and the rush of her blood.

He smiles at her bright and beautiful.

"Leaving?" he asks.

She nodded, she's not one for parties, they both know it, and this one doesn't require her to defend or kill anyone so she thought she was safe to go to bed.

"May I walk you?" he said, offering her his arm and she took it without hesitation but a little embarrassment. There were more people able to see her now, including Varric and Dorian. Even if she couldn't see them she was sure they were there, watching the two of them. She disliked like their meddling, she would deal with her feelings for Cullen in her own time.

Or not at all.

They walked slowly down the steps, the sound of the party falling away as they headed out into the courtyard.

It was frozen over, and Cassandra was tempted to huddle closer to the man for warmth, though she was already close enough to feel the heat from his body. She did rub her hands together then, their breath misting in front of their faces. He smiled at her, and covered her hands with his own.

Cassandra was tall, long legs and arms, towering over all of her friends from the age she could stand. She was a head taller than Leliana, Josephine and the Inquisitor. She had never felt small in her life.

Cullen's hands engulfed hers.

They walked like they, a little awkwardly, until they reached the armoury. Inside, the forge was still lit, warm and cosy even though during the day it was usually hot and noisy and full of sweaty men and metal.

"Come up," she said, the voice not quite her own. This wasn't her, this wasn't them but Cassandra felt compelled anyway.

"I – I should get," he paused. "Get back."

"Very well," she said, trying not to scowl.

Or cry.

She turned away to head up the stairs and rip her dress off when Cullen stopped her, a large hand on her wrist, and she could feel the warmth of it through the thin material. She frowned at him.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked, smiling again.

"Of course," she said, feeling a little light-headed.

He leaned in then, and she panicked, unsure if this was really real, if he was really going to kiss her.

"You are beautiful," he whispered instead, pulling back to smile, his cheeks bright red. "Good night Cassandra."

She couldn't answer for a moment and the Commander was already out the door when she finally bid him goodnight.

xxx

"They didn't spend the night together?"

"Nope. I watched Curly walk her to the armoury and then go back to his office."

"Stubborn fools," Dorian said grumbling to himself for a moment. "Now what?"

Varric thought it over for moment, watching as Cassandra walked by, back in her seeker's uniform and looking more comfortable than she had the day before, but not back to her usual confident self.

"Something happened," he said, "look."

Cassandra walked into a scout, apologising to her profusely instead of scowling and snapping at him, before moving on and leaving the scout a little confused.

"Interesting," Dorian said, with a grin. "And I have an idea."

"Yeah?"

"Come with me."

Varric stood and followed Dorian without questioning it. Whatever the mage had in mind it had to be better than letting the Commander and the Seeker deal with their feelings themselves.

xxx

"Commander?"

"Cassandra?"

The two stood opposite each other in the empty garden, the sun just starting to set and a chill setting in. They have both dressed accordingly, Cullen had his coat and fur pauldrons pulled closed around the more casual clothing Dorian had insisted he wear this evening. Cassandra was in her usual outfit, but a warmer coat wrapped around her.

"What are you doing here?"

She scowled, looking around, eyes settling on the table set up in the gazebo, the meal covered over with metal dishes, the candles flickering in the breeze.

"Varric," she snapped. "And you."

"Dorian," he said, frowning.

"They insist on interfering in something they have little knowledge of," she said, walking over to the gazebo to inspect the dinner. He watched her face soften slightly as she looked over the setting, the wine already corked, the candles bright in the low light. He smiled at her.

"Cassandra," he said, but she didn't react and he spoke again. "They mean well."

"Yes."

He walked up to her, looking around the gazebo briefly before looking at Cassandra once more. She was truly beautiful. Now a soldier and a friend.

"They are trying to be romantic," she said quietly.

"Shame it's so cold."

Normally he wouldn't admit it, though, he didn't really feel it and suspected Cassandra didn't either. They had both survived much harsher conditions than a low winter chill.

"Shame we are outside where they can see us you mean," the woman said, with a slight smirk and he chuckled.

"Yes."

"We shouldn't let this go to waste," she said. "They've tried so hard."

He smiled, and started to collect up the plates of food.

"Get the wine and deserts," he told her. She smiled, just a little, and did as he asked, blowing out the candles before picking up the wine and glasses.

He led her to his office, Cassandra shutting the doors behind them and placing the wine on his desk. He did the same with the plates and tended to his fire, Cassandra looking a little uncomfortable even though she had been in his office hundreds of times.

"Take a seat," he said, "I'll stoke the fire up and we'll eat."

He took his coat off and hung it up too, before pulling his chair around to sit next to her at the desk so they could eat together. Cassandra was less uncomfortable in the chair, with something to concentrate on and he smiled at her, watching her skin flush slightly from the fire.

"Why do you think they are so fascinated by our friendship?" she asked, not looking at him and the word friendship hit him hard. He had hoped he had made an impression last night, made some progress.

Perhaps not.

"They're our friends," he said. "They care about us."

Cassandra huffed, making him smile and for a little while they were quiet as they ate and Cullen found it easier to forget how much everything hurt and how nervous he was in her company these days. He found it easier to remember that she was soldier – just a soldier – as they ate in silence, quick and completely, every morsel gone as if it were going to be their last meal for a while.

They had both lived a life that meant meals could be few and far between.

"Last night," Cassandra started, finishing her dinner and putting the plate aside. She still didn't look at him completely and he did the same with his own plate, turning to face her more fully because she was beautiful and he did love her.

Maker.

"Last night, were you...?" she drifted off and feeling braver than he had in his entire life he reached out to turn her head gently so he could see her face properly.

"Was I going to kiss you?" he asked quietly.

She nodded, still trying to look away as if meeting his eyes would give everything away. He was pretty sure if she looked into his she would see everything.

"Yes," he breathed.

"But you didn't."

"I wasn't sure if you wanted me too," he said, hand falling away. She turned then, to face him, eyes bright but mouth set in that line of grim determination he knew so well. "Did you?" he asked.

She nodded, and he smiled, taking a hand.

He could kiss her now. He knew he could. Knew he should but panicked – it didn't really mean she wanted him to kiss her right now, did it? Cassandra smiled then, leaning forward herself and touching her lips to his.

She gasped.

Gasped and pulled away, but he followed, pressing his lips back to hers, firmer and she reached out to take hold of his tunic, grasping it in her fists as they kissed, both leaning forward in their chairs.

"Cullen," she softly, breathing in and he smiled cupping her cheek.

He had a lot he wanted to say and he was sure in time he would say everything he needed to say but instead he kissed her again, long and sweet making them both moan a little. He was tempted to pull her into his lap but it was too much, too soon for both of them and he pulled away from her lips long enough to look at her swollen lips and flushed cheeks.

"How long have you felt this way?" he asked.

She smiled then, letting go of his tunic and sitting back.

"From the beginning," she told him. "I tried to think of you as just a soldier for all these years but..." She trailed off as he laughed, frowning.

"I tried the same. Just a soldier," he said, "it mostly worked."

"Mostly."

"Mostly ," he repeated and she smiled.

"And now what?" she asked, as he leaned forward again to kiss her once more.

"Now we eat desert and finish the wine just like our interfering friends want us too."

Cassandra laughed at that, moving her chair closer still to him, linking their fingers for a moment.

"One more thing," she said, leaning in for another quick kiss.

"Hmmm?"

"Let's not tell our friends their interfering worked."

"Deal," he said with a laugh.


End file.
